Trinity-Wesleyan: A Chat With Trinity Coach Jeff Devanney

November 07, 2013|By Mike Anthony, manthony@courant.com

Trinity coach Jeff Devanney took time Thursday afternoon to talk about his team’s season and Saturday’s matchup with rival Wesleyan at Jessee/Miller Field, where Trinity has won 50 games in a row. Wesleyan (7-0) is looking to finish off its first perfect season since 1969. Trinity is looking to defend the streak and send its rival into a three-way tie with Amherst and Middlebury.

The thought every season at Trinity is this: Go 8-0. Anything less feels like junk. The Bantams, at 5-2, have fallen out of the NESCAC running, unable to defender their title of a year ago (8-0). Still, with a 50-game streak that dates to 2001 on the line, and with Wesleyan looking for perfection, no one on the Broad Street campus thinks this game doesn’t matter.

In fact, Devanney said he’s looking forward to this game more than any game his team has played in years. It’s juicy. It’s good for football in the state, good for DIII football, good for the NESCAC. Trinity-Wesleyan to close the year means a lot, in a lot of ways.

Devanney on coming off two losses and staying motivated …

“I think our guys have the right mindset. They understand they have to put the disappointment behind them and get ready to play what is really a very big game. Regardless of the fact that we can't win a championship, it's still a huge game.”

On the signficance of the game for Connecticut and college football …

“I can appreciate that. As much as Trinity just doesn't like Wesleyan, if they were 3-4 right now our team might be out there in practice just going through the motions. I've seen it before. We've had teams that were 6-1 or 7-0 and Wesleyan was 2-5, and all week at practice players were just going through the motions and then we have to win in double-overtime or something stupid. It should be a good environment, a good crowd. There will be a huge homecoming crowd and I think Wesleyan will bring a lot of people.”

On how the season has played out (a 5-0 start followed by close losses at Middlebury and Amherst) …

“There's just such a fine line between being 8-0 and 6-2. Last year, we could have been 6-2 [when Trinity finished 8-0 to win the NESAC for the sixth time]. If Rae Haynes doesn't pick a ball off and score in the Amherst game, we're not 8-0. This year, we just didn't make that play in the Middlebury game, that one defining play. We didn't make that one defining play in the Amherst game. There's such a fine line. It's three or four plays here or there.”

On Trinity being devasted by injury at key spots …

“There's no injury excuse. We have enough good players to be 7-0 right now. We just didn't get it done for whatever reason. It's not automatic that you walk on the field and win all the time. You have to give your opponents some credit. The problem around here -- not a problem, per se -- is that we set expectations where you've got to be perfect or else you're supposed to be disappointed. It's nice. I like the fact that it's like that. It wasn't like that when I played here [Class of 1993]. We had good records, but as players we didn't have the expectations that we have now. We go 8-0 or we're not going to be happy about it.”

On the team’s mindset …

“I like our team. I think we have good character, good people. And It think it's nice that Wesleyan is 7-0. The fact that we've won 50 home games in a row and Wesleyan is 7-0, if we can't get fired up for this game there's something wrong with us. The streak has taken on a life of its on.”

On Wesleyan being a little ticked off about Trinity’s celebration in Middletown last season after an overtime victory …

“I think it was more of a release like, holy crap, the pressure that was on that team to go undefeated, and then it looked like we weren't going to win the game, and then the way it ended, some guys were just like, wow. I would expect if they beat us they'll go bezerk here, too. I told the team, if we lose this game, we're not staying on the field. We usually meet on the field. If we lose, I'm not staying out there. We'll meet inside as a team. We'll shake hands with them but we won't have a team meeting while they're celebrating. And if they win, they should celebrate.”

On the team in general …

“We've got a lot of flaws on our team and they hurt us the last two weeks. But we also have a lot of good players, a lot of good people and a lot of character. I know we'll be ready to play on Saturday. We still had enough to win. Look at the injuries the Patriots have. They're still winning. We just had to do a better job coaching and a better job with veterans that were playing. We didn't do enough as veterans and coaches to make those players in the Middlebury and Amherst games.”

Keys vs. Wesleyan …

“If we turn the ball over, we don't have a chance. A key for us is finishing drives. If our offense can finish drives -- I don't think they'll will score tons of points against us. If our offense can just play to its potential -- which I think it will, and it didn't the last couple of weeks.”

On Evan Bunker needing 75 yards to become the NESCAC’s all-time leading rusher …

“Not thinking about it. Hopefully we win and he has 100 yards rushing. If we win and he has 23 yards rushing, I'm going to tell him he should have ran better against Middlebury and Williams earlier in the year. If he ran better against Middlebury and Williams, he'd already have the record.”